At first glance, October was a great month for DC Comics. For starters, for the first time in ages, the publisher’s market share, both in dollars and in units, was slightly higher than Marvel’s. More significantly, though, the dollar volume of DC’s October 2007 direct market periodical sales – as usual, not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC titles and magazines – was the second-highest since the beginning of the current statistics in March 2003. (The highest was achieved in May 2006, when they launched 52.) That’s plenty to be happy about, certainly.

However, the performance improvement isn’t due to any general sales increase across the company’s various lines of titles. Rather, DC simply increased their output volume, and quite drastically so. There were a whopping 95 new DC periodicals in October – that’s 15 more than in September, and it’s also the highest number of new DC periodicals ever published in a given month since the beginning of the current charts in March 2003. Marvel, by contrast, had 63 new periodicals out in October. (Again, we’re not counting reprints, reorders shipping after the initial month of release, Johnny DC/Marvel Adventures titles, magazines and the like.)

As long as the books keep selling and the market is willing to carry the product, there’s nothing wrong with that, of course. But a closer look at the numbers suggests that the wisdom of flooding the market may be questionable at this time: Despite the good showing where market share and dollar volume are concerned, DC’s average periodical sales were down again in October, the average being the third-lowest of the past year, with average Vertigo sales reaching another new all-time low. The average sales of DC’s WildStorm sublabel saw another increase, meanwhile, thanks to the latest relaunch of their WildStorm Universe line.

Looking at DC’s major releases individually, the worrying trends of the past year continued in October. Barring a significant trend reversal, it seems that the publisher is losing its last title capable of reliably shifting more than 100,000 units every month. And out of the 13 new series debuts or one-shot specials released in October – many of which tied in with current event storylines – only one managed to crack the 50K mark, most of them selling below 25,000 units. Sales of the latest attempt to relaunch the tottering WildStorm Universe line are a far cry from the last one in October 2006, while the first issue of Vertigo’s newest ongoing title, The Vinyl Underground, fell short of 11,000 units, marking the lowest-selling of their more recent launches.

See below for the details. As usual, some commentary may be loosely adapted from The Bard. (More on Vertigo’s collection sales is up here, by the way.)

Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com‘s estimates can be found here.

Here’s the big drop-off I’d expected for last issue, following superstar writer Brad Meltzer’s departure with issue #12. One reason for the delayed reaction may be that there were two variant cover editions of issue #13, while the October issue was the first of the series which wasn’t promoted with that gimmick. Largely, though, it seems that retailers simply ordered new writer Dwayne McDuffie’s debut as a first issue, with an obligatory second-issue drop-off in October. As such, that’s not a horrible drop, and the book is still selling at a perfectly acceptable level. (Issues #12 and #13 sold another 5,761 and 4,535 units in October, respectively.)

On the other hand, as mentioned in the introduction, this means that DC are likely about to lose their last consistent 100K+ seller. And to date, there doesn’t seem to be anything in the pipeline to replace it. Of course, this doesn’t say much about the company’s overall performance, but it still seems worth noting.

Evidently, retailers still place a great deal of faith in the name Alex Ross. In addition to painting the regular-edition covers, which he’d been doing for a while, Ross also joined the book as a cowriter in October, for a storyline following up on his popular Kingdom Come series from 1996. It’s quite an impressive sales boost.

As usual, there was a 1-for-10 variant cover edition of the issue. For those of you coming in late, this means that retailers have to buy ten copies of the regular edition to qualify for the purchase of one copy of the variant cover edition. Naturally, that tends to bolster a book’s sales.

The “Sinestro Corps War” crossover continues to be a great success for DC, yielding impressive numbers with any participating titles – also see Green Lantern Corps, Tales of the Sinestro Corps Presents and Blue Beetle. Meanwhile, Green Lantern #23 sold another 3,084 units in October.

If there’s a lesson in these sales – if Marvel’s “World War Hulk” hasn’t made it clear enough yet, that is – it’s that the direct market audience clearly wants crossover events. It just hasn’t been terribly interested in ones like “Amazons Attack” or “Countdown.”

Somewhat surprisingly, the title change and the company’s improbable declarations that – with half the series come and gone – scout’s honor, stuff was really, honestly, genuinely starting to happen in issue #26 have affected the book’s numbers in precisely no way at all. This suggests that retailers either didn’t believe them or that they didn’t care, or both.

The book’s numbers continue their usual slow decline, while Countdown keeps failing in its mandate to sell a lot of spin-off titles and tie-ins.

The October issue was both a prologue to the “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” event storyline and the debut of new series artist Tony Daniel – and there also was a scarcer-than-usual 1-for-25 variant cover edition of it. Bearing all this in mind, the sales increase seems terribly modest here; it doesn’t even get the book back to the level it sold at in August. October’s Robin Annual #7, which also ties in with the crossover, doesn’t seem to have profited a lot from it, either.

So far, it doesn’t look like the story is enticing many retailers into upping their orders, let alone like it’s going to be another “Sinestro Corps War.” But maybe people have just been saving their excitement for the official first chapter in November. We’ll find out next month.

TotSCP: Superman Prime was initially solicited as TotSCP: Anti-Monitor for whatever reason, so perhaps that will yield some reorders once readers and retailers have overcome their confusion. Commercially, this is the kind of spin-off they wish they could have had with Countdown, at any rate. Instead, they’ve got Countdown Presents: The Search for Ray Palmer, 20K down the chart.

The book’s release frequency remains insane. After missing its September shipping date (though just by a week, to be fair), there were three issues again in October – two finishing the “Escape from Bizarro World” arc with art by Eric Powell, another one (extra-sized, at $ 3.50) beginning “Superman and the Legion of Super-Heroes,” a six-part storyline drawn by new series artist Gary Frank. There also was a 1-for-10 variant cover edition of issue #858.

Although I don’t recall any official announcements, it appears much-hyped cowriter Richard Donner has left Action Comics after only two arcs. Perhaps that’s the reason why the sales increase for the new storyline ended up being so meek, high-ticket new artist and promotional gimmicks notwithstanding.

The relaunch puts the book about 20K ahead of its previous level, which, I’d say, is about as good as you could expect. (There was a 1-for-10 variant cover edition.)

Oh, for the record: Green Arrow: Year One #6 actually came out after Green Arrow/Black Canary #1, but it was initially meant to ship back in September. So, in order not to screw up the chart, I’ve taken the liberty of rearranging the two issues in the order they were meant to be released.

September’s Green Arrow/Black Canary Wedding Special sold another 4,671 units in October, meanwhile, bringing its total count to 76,746.

Regular series writer Paul Dini returned to the book in October, resulting, as usual when he does, in another slight sales increase. Unfortuntely, those increases have been getting smaller, and the numbers have been trending downwards over the past year. Come January, the book will get a regular penciler, so perhaps that’s going to help stabilizing things.

Issue #837 was also billed as a Countdown tie-in, by the way. As you’d expect at this stage, though, there’s no noticeable effect.

Despite the truckload of gimmicks DC employed to sell their latest makeover of The Flash – which, we recall, included retailer incentives, variant covers and lying about the creative teams of two issues – the book continues to drop stiffly, and sales are now almost back to where they were before the brouhaha started back in June.

What’s worse, the stunt is starting to look more and more hasty and half-hearted. The book lost its relaunch artist to a Marvel contract a couple of issues into its run, and DC have now officially confirmed that popular writer Mark Waid hasn’t signed on permanently. Neither of these facts is likely to help sales.

Issue #13 was initially solicited as new series writer Gail Simone’s first, before her arrival was pushed back to #14. If retailers had known longer in advance that it was going to be another fill-in, we’d probably have seen a larger drop.

Speaking of post-solicitation content changes, here’s another one: Issue #668 was initially solicited as being the conclusion to the “Camelot Falls” arc, but ended up containing the beginning of the next storyline instead. Either way, sales seem to be settling down around the 47K mark now.

—–

50/66 - DEATH OF THE NEW GODS
10/2007: Death of the New Gods #1 of 8 -- 46,670
10/2007: Death of the New Gods #2 of 8 -- 35,681 (-23.6%)

The highest-selling Countdown spin-off in October, written and drawn by Jim Starlin and costing $ 3.50 a pop, revamps the New Gods, an old Jack Kirby creation that’s apparently going to play a major role in next year’s Final Crisis series. In the past, releasing the first two issues of a new title in the same month tended to smooth the second-issue drop, but over here, the drop-off is actually pretty large for a limited series.

You know the recurring theme by now: This level of sales is alright for a New Gods book, but it falls quite short of what you’d expect from a big crossover event.

The October issue was the first without a variant cover edition, granted, but this drop in sales is still too steep for a third issue. On the other hand, a second printing of issue #1 sold another 4,122 units in October, suggesting that demand is still high for Booster Gold. So I guess we’ll have to wait another month to see whether the book is losing steam, or whether issue #3 was just a blip.

This is about as expected for this $ 3.99 Garth Ennis vehicle, on the other hand – or for any of these higher-priced two-part series starring Superman, Batman or the JLA that DC have been releasing for years, for that matter.

If you want to know which crossovers are working and which aren’t, look no further. Blue Beetle #16 tied in with Countdown, issue #18 crossed over with Teen Titans and October’s issue #20 tied in with “The Sinestro Corps War.” The resulting sales increases pretty much speak for themselves.

Another Countdown tie-in. You can tell by the fact that the numbers aren’t doing anything they weren’t doing before.

—–

102 - ROBIN ANNUAL
10/2007: Robin Annual #7 -- 25,633

A “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” tie-in. In fairness, the Annual outsold the regular title, but given that Robin ran a fill-in issue in October, that’s no great achievement. Pretty underwhelming numbers.

For the last three years, October has been The Authority Relaunch Month at DC, apparently. Despite there not being any official statements from the publisher to date, comments by the artist strongly suggest that the Grant Morrison/Gene Ha version of the book has been quietly abandoned. So The Authority: Prime can be considered the new main title for the franchise, rather than a spin-off. For that matter, the story was at one point intended to follow Morrison’s run in the (notionally) ongoing title.

Comparing its numbers to those of the book’s previous incarnations – the acclaimed Mark Millar run from 2001, the poorly received Robbie Morrison relaunch from 2003, the Ed Brubaker Revolution maxiseries and last year’s aborted Grant Morrison revamp – is making it plain that WildStorm have utterly failed in maintaining interest in the concept. Unless you throw a name like Grant Morrison into the mix, bluntly, nobody seems to give a toss about this old hat anymore. And even then, almost a third of the audience will probably take a hike after issue #1, as we saw last year.

If there is a compelling reason to keep the WildStorm Universe characters around – let alone the WildStorm Universe proper, see the sales of Armageddon several notches down the chart – DC have been unable to put it on display for years now. I’m not convinced there is one, at any rate.

Back when titles like Wildcats Version 3.0 or Sleeper defined the imprint, the books didn’t sell, either, of course; but at least each of them was offering something reasonably unique in the marketplace. Currently, by contrast, the line evolves around a bunch of generic superhero titles whose idea of exploring the genre ends with putting Batman in a trenchcoat.

And who needs that, really?

—–

119 - METAMORPHO: YEAR ONE
10/2007: Metamorpho: Year One #1 of 6 -- 20,699
10/2007: Metamorpho: Year One #2 of 6 -- 18,502 (-10.6%)

This is the first in a series of reprint one-shots collecting Silver Age material with the dubious honor of having something or other to do with Countdown. For a $ 4.99 reprint book, these numbers are rather good.

What DC and WildStorm don’t seem to understand, and haven’t seemed to understand for years now, is that the WildStorm Universe books weren’t popular, once upon a time, because anybody was especially in love with the idea of a WildStorm Universe. They were popular because they provided creators with distinct voices like Moore, Ellis, Casey or Millar with their own little playgrounds to explore themes which were too unconventional for the established superhero lines of the time.

But instead of making the best of it, cutting loose some hungry young creators and allowing them to go nuts, DC stubbornly keep banking on a brand identity that’s no longer there. As long as management and editorial keep treating the WildStorm Universe as a cut-rate Marvel Universe, why should retailers and readers be treating it any differently?

Another correction: Writer Gail Simone’s final issue was #13, not #12 as I wrongly suggested last month.

—–

155 - CAPTAIN CARROT AND THE FINAL ARK
10/2007: Captain Carrot and the Final Ark #1 of 3 -- 14,779

Another Countdown spin-off.

No, really. The numbers are okay for a Captain Carrot book, actually. Of course, “okay for a Captain Carrot book” probably isn’t what editors are looking for when they commission sprawling crossover events.

These numbers haven’t been stellar by any stretch, granted, but they still beat everything else WildStorm have attempted in terms of non-superhero genres or licensed properties lately. I’d call that a mild success.

Sweet sales, renew your force; be it not said
Your edge should blunter be than appetite,
Which but to-day by feeding is allay’d,
To-morrow sharpen’d in his former might:
So, sales, be you; although to-day you fill
Your hungry eyes even till they wink with fullness,
To-morrow see again, and do not kill
The spirit of sales with a perpetual dullness.
Let this sad int’rim like the ocean be
Which parts the shore, where one contracted new
Comes daily to the bank, that, when he sees
Returns from sales, more blest may be the view;
Or call it winter, which, being full of care,
Makes summer’s welcome thrice more wisht, more rare.

In the contrary, it’s the lowest-selling of their latest round of series to date. And in contrast to Crossing Midnight, Scalped, Army@Love or The Un-Men, the book has also generated largely negative reactions, so it’s likely going to have to face even more of an uphill struggle.

After issue #12, the book is apparently going on hiatus and waiting to be relaunched as a “Season Two” series.

The reasoning behind that sort of stunt tends to be to let critical acclaim and good word of mouth accumulate for a while, using it as a springboard for the relaunch. DC has tried this before in recent memory with critically acclaimed but poorly selling titles Hard Time and Sleeper, but results were rather mixed at best. Unless they plan to put some genuine promotion behind the book this time around, there’s not really a sense that Vertigo know what they’re doing here.

—–

221 - THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY (Johnny DC)
04/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #1 -- 13,519
05/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #2 -- 11,121 (-17.7%)
06/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #3 -- 9,252 (-16.8%)
07/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #4 -- 8,236 (-11.0%)
08/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #5 -- 7,681 (- 6.7%)
09/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #6 -- 7,362 (- 4.2%)
10/2007: The LoSH in the 31st Century #7 -- 7,010 (- 4.8%)
----------------
6 months: -48.2%

Perfectly solid numbers. The book seems to be continuing after these initial five issues.

—–Disclaimers, et cetera

The numbers above are estimates for comic book sales in the North American direct market, as calculated by ICv2.com according to the chart and index information provided by Diamond Comic Distributors. ICv2.com’s estimates are traditionally known to be somewhat lower than the actual numbers, but they are consistent from month to month, so the trends they show are fairly accurate. Since it’s a “month-to-month” column, the comments, unless otherwise noted, are on the most recent month. The estimates from March 2001 to February 2003 (marked with an asterisk) were for initial orders rather than actual sales, so they’re only roughly compatible with the subsequent figures.

Bear in mind that the figures measure sales to retailers, not customers. Also, these numbers do not include sales to bookstores, newsstands, other mass market retail chains or the United Kingdom. Reorders are included, so long as they either reached stores in a book’s initial month of release or were strong enough to make the chart again in a subsequent month.

If additional copies of an issue did appear on the chart after the book’s initial month of release, you can see the total number of copies sold in parenthesis behind those issues (e.g. “[36,599]”). Should more than one issue have shipped in a month which is relevant for one of the long-term comparisons, the average will be used.

Titles released under the Johnny DC imprint and magazines, such as Mad, mostly sell through channels other than the direct market, so direct market sales don’t tell us much about their performance. For most Vertigo and some WildStorm titles, collection sales tend to be a significant factor, so the numbers for those books should be taken with a grain of salt as well.

“Although I don’t recall any official announcements, it appears much-hyped cowriter Richard Donner has left Action Comics after only two arcs.”

Well, in Donner’s defense, that may have had something to do with the much-hyped artist (Adam Kubert) completely dropping the ball and ruining whatever momentum and excitement Donner’s participation might have generated. I think most people understood that Donner’s involvement with the Action title was probably minimal anyway. Judging from various interviews, the impression I got was that Donner would say “Hey, I remember a guy named Bizarro. Let’s do a story about Bizarro.” Then his old assistant Geoff Johns would most likely do the lion’s share of the story mechanics, continuity issues, and dialogue with perhaps a final look-see from Donner for any additional ideas or visuals he might have.

The real failure of the creative team lies with the unbelievably unprofessional behavior of Kubert. Never once was there a public apology from the guy (although there WAS one from Geoff Johns), which makes the delays all the worse. I can’t help but wonder if this high-profile wipe out on Kubert’s part will affect his future employment opportunities. Considering the continued toleration of chronically late pencillers within the industry, probably not.

I’m pretty sure it’s been reported that Donner is only off Action for this arc (which is a spinoff of the Johns/Meltzer “Lightning Saga”, and is returning after it. At any rate, his name is almost certainly less marketable in comics circles than Geoff Johns’s, so I doubt it has much effect on sales.

I really don’t see anything biased here at all. DC is down over 16% during the last two years. Gimmicks such as the Flash fiasco, and 1 for 10 covers keep it from looking as bad as it really is. OYL later relaunches such as Blue Beetle, Aquaman, and Atom are in steep decline. The unhearalded Sinestro Corps is boosting sales better than the massively hyped Countdown.

Sure, DC had a good market share month. Marvel, on the other hand, had one of its poorer performances, and the DC market was flooded with titles squeezing more dollars out of life-long committed fans. None of this counts what gets left on the shelf either. The poor guy running my LCS has several dozen Countdown tie-ins jammed in racks. I dunno what he’s going to do with those besides eat a big loss.

Considering that Sinestro Corps took the fan base someplace new with existing characters, while many of the failing titles were designed to rope in a new fan base with new characters, the choice for DC seems fairly evident. Of course, it may be too little too late, as the Flash numbers indicate. When fans leave, they tend to leave for long stretches of time. The sixth month, one year, and two-year numbers are telling that tale very quickly.

Doesn’t make the recent choices right or wrong. It just is what it is.

I hope you are right regarding the Booster Gold #1 reorders…I love the series, and it’s the kind of book that many critics of DC’s grim/”Death Comics” appearance should find appealing. The same goes for Brave and the Bold as well, really, and that isn’t doing well either.

I wonder why DC (or Marvel) doesn’t try a series out that is completely devoid of story arcs. No more opening up to a title page and seeing 1 of 5 or 4 of 6, but instead having 12 months of one-and-done stories. There certainly would be greater fluctuations between issues, but it would also mean that it would be much easier for new readers to jump on at any time.

Brave and the Bold could’ve been that book, but instead, it’s just like any other series, except it has a stranger mix of characters involved.

Maybe that would also require writers to have a coherent plot/story for each 22-page issue, as opposed to going on and on for months with absolutely no direction whatsoever.

Socratic Bass said:
“None of this counts what gets left on the shelf either. The poor guy running my LCS has several dozen Countdown tie-ins jammed in racks.”
=====
DC is using Final Order Cutoff Dates now, as Marvel does, so the dealer should be able to get his numbers down on the monthly books with the very next issue.

But it may also just be appearances that makes it look that way. There are several Countdown related mini-series that are coming out right now. If they are racked together, it may look like more than are actually there.

There were 4 Countdown books out this week and they were all incredibly great!

(Ummm, I can’t really say that, as I haven’t read any comics from this week.)

CaptainAardvark, the impression I get – anecdotal, of course – from myself and some of my friends who’ve been dropping superhero books lately, is that critics of the Death Comics phase tend to just drop DC entirely, not go looking for the occasional superhero books in their line that aren’t part of the current death-continuity trend. “Oh, well, at least Booster Gold doesn’t stink” is not a very likely reaction from someone dropping JLA, JSA, etc. Even if it is a good read.

Socratic Bass said:
“I really don’t see anything biased here at all. DC is down over 16% during the last two years. Gimmicks such as the Flash fiasco, and 1 for 10 covers keep it from looking as bad as it really is. OYL later relaunches such as Blue Beetle, Aquaman, and Atom are in steep decline. The unhearalded Sinestro Corps is boosting sales better than the massively hyped Countdown.”

– – – –

I see bias big time. October 2005 Infinite Crisis #1 came out. So did issue #6 of 6 of the IC prequel minis, Justice #2 and 2 Issus of JLA. October 2005 was not just anther month. By the way, October 2007 5 ship weeks. 2006 had 4. 2005 had 4 weeks with huge books to sell. The Digs at DC in the comments on The Boys, Highwaymen and Green Lantern were beyond the pale. WTF was with the poem in DMZ. It was not cute and it was beneath you (or so I thought).

Did diamond adjust for sales on CDFC #26. Maybe that is way the sale are like they are in any event it is doing pretty well. 4 books over 70,000 are to come by these days. By the way Marvel’s big event that did come out clock in at just over 100,000. Complex sold more than Uncanny but less that the final issue of House of M. This is supposed to fill the void that World War Hulk leaves?

Getting your books on the shelf is needed to sell them. Yes DC put out a but ICV2 also said the October showed growth at the bottom of the chart compared to a year a go. October was a good month for comics. DC had product for fans to buy. They did well. It happen like that sometimes.

“I wonder why DC (or Marvel) doesn’t try a series out that is completely devoid of story arcs. No more opening up to a title page and seeing 1 of 5 or 4 of 6, but instead having 12 months of one-and-done stories. There certainly would be greater fluctuations between issues, but it would also mean that it would be much easier for new readers to jump on at any time.

Brave and the Bold could’ve been that book, but instead, it’s just like any other series, except it has a stranger mix of characters involved.

Maybe that would also require writers to have a coherent plot/story for each 22-page issue, as opposed to going on and on for months with absolutely no direction whatsoever. ”

– – – –

You mean like Jonah Hex? It is a great book. I love the book. Do fans who want one and done stories get the book? I do not think so. B & B to me works like this. Good story, Good art and stories that seem to stand alone for the most part but they have a small “thread”.

It is sad but many fans (and some critics) have a bias against DC. If Senestro Corps is as good as people say sales should be higher. DC has not hid the book. If House of M and Civil War were so bad how come they sold so much? Why are the “old school fans” supporting Booster Gold and Suicide Squad? Where are all the people who wanted to burn DC office down when they thought DC killed Booster? With the howls of protest you saw on the web the book should have sold over 100,000 every issue. Did DC put a crappy team on the book or something? What good to making a book that fans ask for but does not sell?

It seems DC need more books that fans hate with the passion of 1,000 suns but buy anyway. Blue Beetle, Checkmate, Jonah Hex and Atom are great books. Welcome to Tranquility and Highwaymen will be missed. Vertigo has books that are off the hook. Army @Love, Scalped and Exterminators are quality.

DC has great talent and is putting out good books. Fans have biases. Why should it be so hard to get Daredevil fans to try Criminal and Birds of Prey Fans to try Welcome to Tranquility.

Do not expect Comic companies to try new things if fans will not. One and done can be too much if it is “too new.”

And let’s all not forget that the economy is in serious trouble, some people are losing their jobs, others are having their hours cut. Gasoline has again gone to $3 a gallon. People are cutting back on their spending.

The numbers are okay for a Captain Carrot book, actually. Of course, “okay for a Captain Carrot book” probably isn’t what editors are looking for when they commission sprawling crossover events.

Heh. I suspect the target audience for this was fairly narrow: those long-time readers who are around 30 now and have fond memories of reading the original book during their childhood in the early 1980s.

I guess there’s only 14,000 of us still reading. Suddenly I’m really curious as to how well it sold back in 1983.

The Johnny DC and Marvel Adventures comics are also one-and-done. I highly recommend Teen Titans Go, The Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century, Justice League Unlimited, and Marvel Adventures: Avengers

this chart shows me that more people should give jonah hex a try, lol. yeah, it’s done in one…and each issue has a different guest artist.

something different for sure these days.

hey, got to plug the book any way I can.

genre books like the vertigo line and some wildstorm titles are always a hard sell, so word of mouth is everything to these titles and I find retailer support is key to success. I may be a terrible shopper, but when i go to the store and dont see a title, i buy something else… its important to keep these lower selling titles stocked.

ah,i can go on and on. lol…i’ll save it for a rainy day and just say pick up kyle bakers ” special forces” its my favorite book this month.

Phuenengames said: “October 2005 Infinite Crisis #1 came out. So did issue #6 of 6 of the IC prequel minis, Justice #2 and 2 Issus of JLA. October 2005 was not just anther month.”

Exactly. It was a month that people were excited to run out and gobble up some books. They did more, with fewer weeks (if what you say is correct) and I’m guessing fewer titles. DC was taking a new direction. I remember being really pumped about it.

Now that the direction has been taken….. we look up and see that the train pulled out pretty quick and left a lot people behind.

My take… fans are exhausted. A friend of mine and I were talking tonight about how we added 52 extra books to our collection after 52, and are about to have another 52 with Countdown. We’ve gone through IC crisis, 52, Countdown, and are about to do a crisis again. We both talked about how hard it is to be excited about it because we’re tired. If I wasn’t feeling like I’m playing catch-up every week, in spite of purchasing 15+ titles a month, I might have the kind of energy and enthusiasm I had in 2005.

My opinion may not be worth its salt, but the numbers are telling us something.

I don’t see any bias here either. He tells the truth and you know what they say about the truth… ouch!

I’m a die hard DC guy and I hate to say it but the writings all over the wall. Their biggest projects have become the biggest industry jokes. All Star Batman? When it ships, it’s a disaster. With circ figures that began with almost 200k, that book has shed more than half its audience.

With all the publicity and new readers who might may have sampled the book, not having it on the stand for that new reader to buy for close to a year wasn’t exactly the brightest marketing ploy in the business. Comic Shop News just said that the latest issue would read better if it shipped with blank word balloons so readers can fill in their own god damned dialogue. ; )

One Year Later, almost every single OYL book is gone… Blue Beetle and Atom are hanging on by a thread. Guess rape, character mutilation and hero deaths don’t sell like they used to… that’s my only assumption of why ‘DEATH’ of the New Gods is having performance anixety, despite it being by the highly respected Jim Starlin.

Many of the newly termed superstar pros believe delivering pertains only to take out dining and the rest artists, I don’t know. Will someone please explain Nightwing #137, page one to me? I felt sorry for Marv Wolfman. Comics are a visual medium and story aside, the rest of the book, from logo to art is such an eye sore, it gave me a headache.

Poor Flash, deceiving your readers doesn’t boost consumer confidence the way it used to and Vagina Monster doesn’t look to be such a great addition to the rogue’s gallery after all.

Green Lantern is a prime example of the logic that old characters are stale and don’t sell, right Jason Rusch Firestorm? Brave and The Bold is quite a shocker though team up books never cracked the top ten. But I bet if you put George Perez on Legion of Super Heroes number one with maybe, Jim Shooter, the team responsible for those infamous Avengers stories might actually crack the top ten.

The company has a bad rap right now and it’s working like a domino effect, infecting their line as a whole, even to the good books. I wish things looked better for them because so many people love their characters.

Jonah Hex has gotten a few more readers in my store recently, spurred (ha!) by the TPBs released in the past few months, and some random recommendations from me. It was a “Try something new!” item here.

I think that some of the Countdown tie-ins have gotten a bum rap. I’m quite enjoying CD to Adventure and CD to Mystery, and the CDP:Sf Ray Palmer (also a good series) issues keep selling out and getting reordered here.

I think Crime Bible may se some spiking thanks to the “journals” some fols have been receiving.

Of course, Buffy still sells 45% better than my best DC book, so I suppose my numbers may be atypical…

The Ra’s Al Ghul issues have been impossible to keep in stock here, as have the Messiah Complex issues in X-Men. Each time I think I’ve got a handle on demand, I get 2 or 3 more people adding them to their file.

Captain Carrot isn’t really a CD tie-in; I think DC’s putting the “A Countdown Tie-In Really?” on the cover is a joke.

Death of the New Gods is another steady sell-out/re-order title for me.

“Hahahaha, why are you going to miss Highwaymen? Apparently you didn’t pay enough attention to it to notice it’s a limited series.”

Huh yes he did pay attention.

Jim Lee said this

“The Highwaymen will conclude its arc and then end, Lee said, noting that the series was a great read but hasn’t performed well sales-wise. After the series is over, Lee said that they’ll be working with the creators again.”

You are the one that dies not seem to pay attention. A fan was asking if there would be more Highwaymen. If it had sould bettter there would be more. Not a goog change there will be more; so, I guess I will be allowed to miss it. It seems people have a different point of view when they just hate on thing and people who just want more of something they had fun reading.

There are lies damnable lies a statitics. If you do not see how it should be noted that IC #1 came out October 2005 when you copare an October that is bias. When you do not note that DC is selling more books that they did 4 years ago that is bias.

Marvel delayed a whole line of books, the EIC does not seem able to get a major event book on time and the last issus of World War Hulk was a month late and had a large amount of misprints. Still people will by the next Marvel event no matter what.

I will say this again where are the “old school fans” supporting Booster Gold and Suicide Squad? Where are all the people who wanted to burn DC office down when they thought DC killed Booster? With the howls of protest you saw on the web the book should have sold over 100,000 every issue. Did DC put a crappy team on the book or something? What good to making a book that fans ask for but does not sell?

Maybe I am alone but I do not want to buy books like DC put out twenty years ago. I am happy with Blue Beetle, Jonah Hex, Checkmate and Catwoman. It wish there weere more. I stll feel the poem on DMZ was out of line and the note on the Bots was over the top.

The saying has been written different ways and attributed to many people. But it is NOT a true statement.

Statistics are the result of Mathematical computations, therefore they cannot be lies. The person who collects the data and the person interpreting the data can be liars, but the statistics are not lies.

Great work as always from Marc-Oliver Frisch. There’s nothing biased here. If sales on a particular title are down, it’s not his fault.

“I stll feel the poem on DMZ was out of line and the note on the Bots was over the top.”

I thought the poem was a good attempt at sprucing things up. And the note on The Boys was dead-on! Some sort of higher up corporate policies at Warner Bros may have made DC drop the title, but it’s totally worth mentioning that it’s out-performing it’s Wildstorm/Vertigo siblings.

BTW, when I asked for someone to explain Nightwing #137 page 1, then said I feel bad for Marv Wolfman, I meant no slight to him. He’s a good, dependable writer but my point was, with comics being a visual medium, a writer is either benefitted or handicapped by the artist translating his story.

That issue lost me on page one because of the art.

For everyone else, people are all over DC because there’s a lot to be on them about. They hyped a whole lot the past few years and failed on nearly every front. Show me one single breakout success from their editorial braintrust. Green Lantern, JSA and All Star Superman? All three of those books utilize concepts the EIC has claimed do not work anymore hence, his excuse for maiming old characters in favor of more diversity relevance across the line. Jordan was the old boring character who doesn’t sell, some of JSA’s characters are just plain old and Grant Morrison is mining the despised old silver age like, well, a silver mine.

This is a company who has so milked the Marv Wolfman / George Perez Crisis cow, the poor animal has become a diluted skeleton begging to be put out of its misery. They’ve turned something once respected and beautiful and made the mere mention of its name something that has become sickening and ugly. But they while milking the cadaver, they’ve cast aside its spirit.

Has there ever been anything printed with the two names of Marv Wolfman and George Perez on it that sold and read anything short of spectacular. Anything those two have worked on together became industry transforming and relevant.

This industry could use any shot in the arm it could get. But the braintrust up at DC sought not to publish the lost New Teen Titans graphic novel at a time when Teen Titans were once again becoming a hot property both with the new comic and tv show based on the W/P characters. Talk about missing the bus!

Nah, that book is irrelevant! Characters are old, stale and from a bygone done day and time! It would confuse readers. Kind of like Green Lantern, JSA and All Star Superman. Instead, let’s suckle the Crisis cow — unload 52 alternate earths to play rubics cube with mind but without the Hitchhikers Guide to the DCU.

People are saying DC Comics stink today because there’s a foul air around the company as a brand. It affects the whole line. Same thing that happened to DC in the 70s and it took Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s New Teen Titans to turn that all around.

Hey wait — Marvel is publishing this ‘Lost’ Fantastic Four story by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It was supposed to be the 103rd story they’d begun in 1970 and was solicited in this months very own Previews Magazine! It might confuse readers, its on the other side of the Mark Miller / Bryan Hitch FF relaunch solicitation page. Their’s is solicited on page 29 and the Lee Kirby lost FF 103 is solicited on page 30. Dang darn it, I’m sooo confused!

Marv Wolfman and George Perez saved DC in the 70’s. If ever they needed a public image turn around, its now. Hey wait a minute, isn’t there a Marv Wolfman and George Perez…. in the house?

Jenette Kahn had more to do with Dc’s turnaround in the late 70’s and early 80’s than jnust one creative team one 1 title. Kahn instituted a whole new phase at Dc with new publishing initiatives and concepts.

And frankly you are overstating you case equating the DC of the late 70’s with the DC of today. Dc pretty is in no way that bad a a company and publishing line the way it was when Kahn took over as publisher.

They published in 1980 exactly, right on the tale end of the 70’s. I remember, I was there buying comics in the 70’s. Marvel Comics were considered ‘cool’ and all the kids were saying DC Comics stink.

They still had that rap when DC published New Teen Titans #1.

I know because I had to fight with my comic store owner to get a copy. True story — as a ten year old kid, I went into the store to by New Teen Titans #1 after sampling it in DC Presents #26. My shop owner did not display copies of New Teen Titans #1 on new release day. He kept them near the toilet in the store bathroom. He only ordered five copies. When I asked for the book, the owner whose name was Jerry said “What do you want that garbage for? It’s DC and it’s Teen Titans. The book’ll be dead in six months.”

He was looking out for his customer’s best interests. He knew we were kids with small allowences and he wanted us to spend our money on something he believed we would enjoy. People weren’t exactly loving DC at the time. I said I don’t care, I want it. I have a feeling about it and it looks cool. Reluctantly, he sold me the book.

Six months later, if he could eat his words, he would have. Marv Wolfman and George Perez turned that all around.

If that experiment did not succeed, Janette Kahn might not have been so willing to take a risk on Miller’s Dark Knight, Moore’s Swamp Thing or Watchmen or anything else that followed afterwards.

Thus, it was the risk they took on the joint work of Marv Wolfman and George Perez and its ensuing great success that made them more willing to take chances. At that time, for a long time, Wolfman and Perez’s Titans was the only book selling well… it certainly was the only book to get royalties out of DC’s entire line. That says a mouthful.

Fine spelling and grammar are not my strong points but the Twain (via Disraeli) quote “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” fits every month when sales numbers come out. People that have “issues” with DC quote what they want to bash DC on but the one thing they do not do is point out is that according to the numbers DC is selling more books on average than 4 years ago. DC must be doing something right.

Some people say they want a self contained and mostly one a done story but Jonah Hex, Brave and Bold and Detective do not do it for them. People want fun and whimsy but Blue Beetle and Welcome to Tranquility were for some reasons downers to them. I guess the Highwaymen was too complex and slow for people that wanted an adrenaline rush. The material that fans want is out there but they are not buying it. It is not all DC’s fault. Fans have to own up to a lot of it too.

It is so hard to get fans to try something new. Some may think westerns are stupid so they will never try Jonah Hex. They miss out on a fun book. Why couldn’t more Birds of Prey fans look at Welcome to Tranquility? Was there a lack of strong women to them? Some fans have bias and it is limiting them to try things they may like. Some whine about gimmicks, but good story and good art will only get you so far. Did Mr. Burbaker write better after Cap got killed? Sales say so . Fans need to support what they ask for. What should a company do when they see the sales on Manhunter and Spidergirl? The fuss raised by some fans over the “mistreatment” of JLI characters you would think Booster Gold would be a top ten book. It is not and far from it. It sales do not rate the talent that DC put on that book.

Again to me the sales articles have been very biased. The back and forth of Mr. Wood and Mr. Frisch over sales made the poem on DMZ sales look petty not “sprucing things up”. A spot on point made over and over and over again for no real reason is also petty. DC could have been petty over the Boys but they were not. I am happy they were professional because I still get to read a book I like. DC has Vertigo books that rate sales like the Boys. Many people that like the Boys could enjoy books like Scalped and Exterminators. The question is not why DC is not still publishing the Boys; it is why, outside of money, won’t many Boys readers look at books like Scalped and Exterminators.

Sales on big events seem to hide things to some people. How come DC can stick with book like Checkmate, Jonah Hex and Blue Beetle but Marvel cancels Antman and Blade. Outside of big events Marvel has not done that well. Heroes for Hire is gone and Moonknight sales are falling. Ultimate sales seem to be dropping like a rock.

If people want to be hateful and spiteful, fine. Blogs seem to be a great place for it. If you feel that everyone can go screw themselves until you get the book you want, fine. Just do not do this saying I am being fair and objective or say I am petty because I care. Because you are not having fun does not mean others are not.

I wish comics in general sold more but I have not had as much fun with DC comics now than I have had in years. I am not getting everything, I like but there is a lot that I like.

If the current sales analysis offered at The Beat blog is any indication, DC Comics are slowly losing any titles selling above 100,000 copies… ”

– – –

If you look at the same sales charts. Outside of “event” bumps” the same could be said of Marvel. I am sorry if you said more in your post. Marvel may look for Anitia Blake and Stephen King for 100,000 sale ant not material they own.

No oen is making 100,000 sellers like they used to. To me this may be an industry problem not a DC problem.

I’d just like to remind everyone that these are NOT final numbers and are generally considered to be about 10-15% low. We can’t really make any hard and fast conclusions regarding magnitude — the trends are accurate, however.

Not seeing any bias. The comments (note thats another way of saying opinion) are consistent for both marvel and dc. I say this having read this for many months and usually back to back (rather then days apart like many).

The numbers themselves are not really that important for analysis purposes. As “The Beat” notes, its the trends that matter. The trends shows that DC backed the wrong horse (Countdown over Sinestro Wars), that more comics coming out doesn’t necessary create greater sales, and that gimmick events are temporary measures to simply good story telling (i like Mark Waid but Brave and Bold is boring, just flat out boring).

So rather then harp on the numbers, harp on the trends. That is where the true analysis and understanding can come from. Maybe if Didio did that more often rather then this silly shoot from the hip approach he currently has, he could right the ship (that and quit using artists notorious for always being late. And don’t get me started on the chicken scratch being called “art” from Kubert on Superman).

I love when people are saying comics are selling better now than ever. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. That is an illusion.

They’re selling better now because the price point is higher and DC is churning out 10x more titles than they were years ago. Circ figures are down on the regular books. Look at the numbers.

It’s like this: Comic-Man sales are down. What does DC do? They put out Countdown on a weekly basis and litter the market with dozens of useless crossovers, that makes up for the lost sales on Comic-Man’s book. So they never lose money, they just replace what you’re not buying with something else hypes as a ‘must buy’.

DC sells 30k of those useless Countdown tie ins at 2.99 a pop and if they sell ten of those titles, that’s an aggregate circ figure of 300,000. It yields the same figure, same revenue as if one Comic-Man book sold 300,000 copies.

Add that to the 80k people or so buying Countdown on a weekly basis, which yields an aggregate circ figure of about 320,000. Looking the bottom line, it yields the same result as if one of their failing regular monthly books sold 320,000 copies.

But don’t let that fool you into believing comics are selling better. They’re not, they’re just replacing what customers stopped buying with something they’ve tricked you into believing you ‘must’ buy.

Thing is, the quality isn’t any better on the Countdown bait and switch book they make you believe you need to buy than the Comic-Man book people stopped buying, and whose quality and sales are in the crapper. Comics aren’t getting better and neither is the quality, they’re just serving you from a different toilet with an increased price tag, hence the illusion that comics are selling better.

I do not think I could read when the last time a book could average 300,000 a month over a year or two.

Again there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics. Marvel and DC are selling more units now than they did a few years ago, but they are a far cry from what they were 15 – 40 years ago. There was a time that Archie was the biggest comic there was and Mad Magazine had over 1,000,000 subscribers. .25 for something you can move 500,000 of is ok, but for something you can move only 50,000 of is insane. Comic pros and historians, I have read, have said that a 50,000 sales book would be canceled back in the day by the major publishers. Now Publishers would kill to have a 50,000 book.

People are not idiots they do not get tricked into $2.99 over and over again for something they do not want. They may have biases and buying traits that lock them in to buying habits. If you need to have every issue of a comic to complete your run or every tie-in, that is between you and your wallet. If you need the Ghost Rider WWH tie-in to complete the event that is between you and your wallet. The “quality” of tie-in’s for major events have not changed in 25 years. They are what they are.

I am very happy with the quality of the books from DC. I wish the books I enjoyed sold more. I have a feeling that if DC changed to make its most adamant detractors happy, I would most likely be displeased with what they produce. From the tenor of many of there posts, it is hard for me to see DC being able to make them happy long term.

To me comics are better than they were 20 years ago. The paper, the art and the writing is fun. There are fewer option sadly. The “others” are not as strong as 10 – 20 years ago, but IDW, Dynamite, Boom Studios are putting out great stuff. I am not getting as much from SLG as I used to but I love Wonderland and Gargoyles. I wish Dark Horse and Image were stronger.

There are not as many fans now as in 1987, but there were not as many comic fans in 1987 as 1967. Was in because of crappy comics? Times just change. Companies adjust. DC is doing Tiny Titians to try to cultivate new fans. Direct to DVD movie are do for a new revenue stream.

To me it is a fun time to be a DC Comic fan. Has DC had missteps? Yes. But most of the bile and bad felling around DC to me at this point is done by DC haters. To be kind Amazon Attack did not turn out they way DC wanted but the level of bile on the web about it is not wanted. DC “failing” seems to be these haters’ dream. To them if DC would just make books they like they would be good. Right now DC seems to have to fight perception more than reality.

“People that have “issues” with DC quote what they want to bash DC on but the one thing they do not do is point out is that according to the numbers DC is selling more books on average than 4 years ago.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’re currently experiencing some turbulences and losing height. But don’t you worry: We’re still somewhat higher than we were thirty minutes after take-off.

Seriously: You’re absolutely right, DC’s average sales are still better than they were four years ago. And they’re still better than they were six years ago, as well. They’re probably worse than they were ten years ago, though. And they’re a lot worse than they were fifteen, or twenty, or thirty years ago. And they’re a fraction of what they were sixty years ago.

While all of that is valuable in terms of providing historical perspective, though, I find the more recent trends to be more relevant to the question how the publisher is doing right now.

“Again there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
=====
Again, statistics are Mathematical data, therefore cannot be lies. Those collecting information and those interpreting information can be liars, but statistics cannot.

I think it is foolish and ‘fanboyish’ to claim that Anita Blake and Dark Tower don’t count because they are liscensed. If Marvel gets the money and pushes the units, it counts.

I think DC will learn that a perpetual universe-wide crossover doesn’t work. When you have one (or two) main books with a couple of crossovers spread out… that is what the people (apparently) want. I’m sure they’ll learn from their mistakes.

Oh, and pointing out how Marvel is doing bad stuff to prove how DC is doing good stuff… THAT is bias. Different people do the Marvel and DC trend charts and I don’t think either of them are biased, they are just fair.

It’s all my fault. The DC’s I’m really enjoying all look like they are in trouble. Jonah Hex is a good as ever and that’s saying something. I love The Spirit. Checkmate is top-notch and I never thought I would like Shadowpact so much. I have to stop reading this feature, it’s too depressing.

Alan, you’re missing the point of the phrase. Disraeli’s point (or whoever really came up with the line) was the ease with which statistics, accurate in themselves, can be used to mislead people through selective quotation or by exploiting the fact that most people don’t understand how to interpret them or accept them at face value without, for example, questioning whether the study involved an invalid comparison, a defective control group, a biased sample, etc etc. If you design your study badly enough, you can come up with a statistic to justify anything. Equally, the rhetorical misuse of out-of-context statistics has been a staple of political debate of centuries.

But the adage about statistics, while cute in and of itself, does nothing to advance one’s argument. In itself, it is NOT a true statement. Just like the statement “Even a broken clock is right twice a day” is cute, it is not true. A broken clock is no longer a clock. It may be repaired and become a clock again, but until it is fixed, it is not a clock.

Statistics can be wrong because of improper input. Statistics can be used in the wrong way by those trying to deceive others, but statistics cannot be lies.

“I could see a case being made for 10 years ago (though I’d strongly disagree), but saying non-Marvel/DC comics were stronger 20 years ago than today is madness.”

I guess it is a matter of perspective. The direct market was in its infancy. Watchmen brought in new fans. I was of them. To me did not look to Marvel and DC to find more Alan Moore like stuff. First and Eagle were great. Comico gave many of us our first looks at people like Chuck Dixion and Bill Willingham. Comico also gave me my first look at printed anime with their Robotech material. I think Eastman and Laird gave us TMNT a couple of years earlier. Dark Horse was just starting up. The impact that “the others” had on the comic industry was amazing. The talent and material that was coming out from “the others” around 1987 is still having an impact on the industry. That is how I saw strength. It was not all sales to me but they did do ok. Before the “bust of excess” the comic industry seemed strong enough to support so much. To me in 1987 everything seemed to point up for the comic industry.

Okay I give up. I am not being fanboyish or bias. Sales count to the bottom line but if I have a company I do not want so much of my sale being dependent on material that I do not own outright. What is foolish about that? Things you can do to generate income from that property is limited. If you go on and on about how new OYL titles are failures it is fair to say hey Marvel new book released around the same time did not do to well. There were quite a few fans that loved Antman. Maybe it is not about the “failure” of OYL but more about how new material is not doing to well in the market. That is not bias. If fans were more open to buying new material companies there would be less events in my opinion.

No comic company sells in a vacuum. If to note loosing a 100,000 seller it might be nice to note that 100,000 “non-event” book are not as easy to come by as they were in the past. The reports are form different people. To me the Marvel report seems to have more perspective and not gripe with Marvel. Yes there was a correct in the Titians blurb, but when DC talked about the new Titians book relaunch new never in the equation. That was made clear.

The sales report seems to be haterade for DC haters and to me it is encouraged. This seems to be a forum for them.

If you have DC books you like (Jonah Hex, Checkmate, Countdown and Blue Beetle) ask people to look at them. If you have friend that whine and complain about all the books they are buying and hate, but refuse to try a book they may enjoy. Find new friends. :)

Don’t you think that’s a rather academic point? That’s like saying words cannot lie, just the people saying the words. Words can be presented with the intention of deceiving people, and statistics can be presented with the intention of deceiving.

Luckily, I do not believe Diamond, or Frisch, have any deceptive intent.

Does anyone know the numbers for Conan? I am just wondering how it is doing these days. I got bored with it and dropped it for a while, but imagine I will pick it up again someday just to see if it is as good as I remembered from years ago.